Cinderblock Garden
by PatTraX
Summary: "It's a story about a couple who are having to live in a city, when the girl wants a garden" - Alex Gaskarth (A Little Emerald Book)


DISCLAIMER: This story is based off 'Cinderblock Garden' by the band 'All Time Low'. The owner of this story does not own the rights to the song nor the band nor the videogame 'Kingdom Hearts' and it's characters and locations, all of which are mentioned within.

* * *

Just hold out for tomorrow,

Our dreams will follow,

Follow us back to when,

When nothing was broken,

The future was open,

Let's go back again,

Let's go again...

* * *

I've been told I love being different. I guess I have to agree though. Lately things have become clearer and I can see that, in truth, nothing is as I thought it was.

It first started when I fell in love with Naminé who is now my girlfriend. The beautiful, innocent girl who loved sundresses and painting. She was everything I could have wanted and yet nothing worked out for us back then. She always went on about moving back into the suburbs after graduating. It never ended up happening and she came to live with me after I asked her out for the fifth time that year. It was a bit rushed but after her grandmother died she had no choice what with her friend Kairi being married to Sora after who knows how long of pointless flirting and stupid quips.

It was actually me and Naminé who got them together. It was even how we met. I met her and Kairi through Sora one day when he told me we would be meeting this girl and her 'hot best friend'. Sora wasn't hiding anything from me when he said it was love at first sight for him when it came to Kairi. But for whatever reason he had trouble doing something about it. I later found out that the situation was similar with Kairi.

Enter me and Naminé who teamed up to play cupid for our last two years of high school. It wasn't easy but eventually we got the job done. How, we won't say but I can assure anyone it did not involve anything illegal… almost.

And so things went from there. Kairi did what her father asked her to do and moved out after graduating to start her landscaping career. He did however have a few doubts when she revealed she'd be moving in with Sora. And Sora began job hunting and tried to find his own career. This was all several years ago and he's still not onto anything. One week it's 'maybe something creative' and then it's 'I want to be the boss', no one truly understands the guy. Except Kairi considering their living together.

But what about me and Naminé? That's easy. We hit it off as friends and kept our relationship going strong through the years of post-school. I got into a course in 3D modelling while Naminé tried and failed to get into the creative industry using her art skills as an easy win. She was disheartened when she found out that mostly everything is done with technology. After that she took to the internet and gained a following of fans all buying prints of her stuff online. It worked too, she was swimming in money. And yet she never seems to use it.

Then I got a call from Naminé two years back and I had to rush over there immediately. I found her on the floor in her kitchen about to drown herself in champagne. She was muttering things that I couldn't make out but even now I didn't care what she said, all I knew is that I had to help her. Her grandmother had passed away in her sleep due to a stroke. Naminé was mortified. And it wasn't the first death in her family having lost her parents in a car crash when she was three. They were even going on their honeymoon at the time.

From then on Naminé came to live with me and so started the healing process. I waited on her, made sure she was eating and drinking correctly, comforted her when she cried and, more importantly, laughed and cried when she did so.

I suppose if I had to pick a time when I first fell in love with my best friend of three years it would have to be that night I found her painting her grandmother in her studio she set up in my apartment. There wasn't a tear on her and if I had to guess I would say she was smiling. I knew then that she had gotten over her grief. And everything just got better from there.

But while we shared a lot in common we tended to share too much. And one of these things was that we were both incredibly stubborn people.

"Roxas!" Naminé raised her voice for what felt like the thousandth time today. Granted I was doing much better with that count. "What is with you?"

She was being unbelievable. This would be the fifth time explaining. "I told you a million times." I exaggerated. "I have already gotten our anniversary planned. Like, a month ago!"

That wasn't an exaggeration though. A month ago I realised that our one year anniversary would be coming this Valentine's Day and that meant that all the good couple spots would be bombarded. So I improvised and moved to plan for things that only we enjoyed together and that would require a smaller amount of people around. It was Valentine's Day, sure, and that meant that couples would be couples, each one ready to go out and flaunt their relationships. But this was more to us (and I'm sure other couples too) as it was an anniversary also.

"So what?" Naminé protested, crossing her arms in defiance. "We've changed plans before."

"Sure, but they weren't attached to bigger things like this." I understood I may have been being a bit unfair. In regards to what Naminé just said I would have changed plans just as many times as she. And some of these would involve meeting family and friends together both of which could be considered big. But not as big as this.

"Tell me Roxas, my love." She added with a hefty amount of cruel sarcasm to the words 'my love'. "Just how big is this that you have to go and take the one thing that I want?"

"Because I already decided." I retorted, getting tired of all the arguing. If things kept going like this my voice was going to give.

"Who says you get to decide?" She said, not letting her arms fall from their place around her chest. "Last I checked couples usually make decisions like this _together_." She emphasised that last word.

I looked at her like she had grown a second head. "It was a surprise." I deadpanned. "I have explained this also!" I added in a yell anticipating Naminé's voice to get out of hand after she pulled her arms up and grunted in exasperation. It seemed as though I wasn't the only one to be losing patience with this conversation.

"I can't believe you!" She yelled as I thought she would. "You know, actually yes I can!"

I was taken slightly aback though I tried to hide it. "What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Don't think I haven't noticed your pride and ego growing with every day we spend together." She points out while literally pointing at me accusingly. "It's like you hold me as some trophy rather than a girlfriend and that makes it seem like you think you control me. Like you have some right!"

I hold my hands up in defence. "Woah that is not what's going on here." I try to explain.

"Oh yeah?" Naminé cuts me off before crossing her arms once more. "So what is going on here?" She asks looking as rebellious as ever.

"What's going on here is that I thought I had the right to want to be alone with you." I decided to just say everything the argument was getting repetitive and the thrill of surprising my girlfriend had worn off ages ago. "You know, I thought we'd be better off doing something for just us, with just us. Going somewhere different because this time of year Radiant Garden is going to be overflowing with couples as well as every other 'couple spot' I can think of. I'm sure you can think of why that would be."

Naminé opens her mouth but nothing is said so I continue. "Naminé, I only want to have you to myself for our anniversary and Valentine's Day too is that so wrong?" I pause for a moment. "Is it wrong for me to think that you'd prefer to be with me and me alone on our special day? And on a day dedicated to lovers?" When the words were said I realised how dumb and cliché it all sounded. No wonder Naminé had looked like she was ready to hit me before, I was ready to kill myself.

Speaking of Naminé she wasn't looking like that anymore. While she had looked like a ball of rage and anger she looked hurt and let down, like she was a dog and I was eating steak in front of her.

"Roxas…" Naminé had said my name so quietly that I almost didn't hear it.

I didn't want to lash out but I wasn't feeling charitable right now. "What?" I lowered my voice considerably without dropping the stern tone.

And then Naminé flinched and stepped back one maybe even two steps. She raised her hand to her chest and the whole sight made me step back in disbelief. She was afraid of me and it made me question why I was fighting with her in the first place. But thoughts came back quickly and I didn't let it faze me.

But before I could go on Naminé talked first. "I want to leave." She said quietly, eyeing the door behind me.

"But…" I started pathetically. "This is… your place."

"I don't care." She replied, subtly moving towards the door, her hesitation obviously being because of the person in front of it. Namely me. "Anywhere is better… than being with someone who doesn't love me."

And then she took off. "Naminé!" I call her name, reaching for her as she passes. I miss. "Wait!" I call again but before I take two steps the door has already been slammed shut.

I wanted to punch something. Frustration fuelled my next action and yet it didn't come, instead, I fell to the floor as Naminé's last words finally sunk in. "She…" I started, barely gripping reality and on the brink of falling to heartbreak. "She… She doesn't love…me?"

I didn't have to look in a mirror to know I was crying. Hell, I didn't need any senses to know. Those words were the most hurtful things I could never even think of existing in this world. And yet they were aimed at me.

Before I knew it the air in the apartment began to suffocate me. It wasn't just our place anymore it felt like it was mine and mine alone once again. It felt like she had never even thought about coming here let alone setting foot inside. Suddenly I was all alone, well and truly alone.

~ Kingdom Hearts ~

I had left two hours ago. I understand it was my place. I understand it was my home. But right now, all it did was show me how truly alone I was. I also understood that there was nowhere left for me to go. I belonged nowhere other than at my apartment… with her.

I had been walking aimlessly around town. The sky showed that it was well past twilight giving the town itself a bad name. It was odd though, surreal even. I had looked up a few times but what I saw didn't make sense. The sky wasn't black nor a more midnight blue but a simple dark blue. I had even joked a few times that blue was the colour to represent melancholy and boy was that how I was feeling.

Before I knew it I was thinking of her again. She had been in and out of my mind ever since the fight ended. To my knowledge I had no idea where she went. I had unconsciously gone to some of her favourite spots. Market Street, Station Plaza, the woods, the 'Usual Spot' where we used to hang out with our high school friends back in the 'old days'. She wasn't even in the Underground Concourse or the supposed Haunted Mansion, two places special too us as they were our favourite places to go to hide and be more intimate. I can remember Naminé's hesitance in both situations. We didn't do anything dirty just made out and went home when it got late or when one of us got tired. One time Sora interrupted us when he thought to bring Kairi into the mansion which 'totally ruined the mood' for both parties. In the end, nevertheless, I came up short everywhere I went.

There were two places I hadn't checked though, and these were places that she would have most likely ended up which may have been why I was instinctively avoided them. The first was out of the question though since it was Kairi's 'work home' and she was out at Radiant Garden on break to spend time with her husband, Sora, who worked there.

That was also why Naminé suggested it and another reason she wanted to go. We'd probably end up doing double date stuff which would make everything worse, no alone time at all. She had gotten free tickets which Sora was able to get easily for them and his wife Kairi.

It's not like we haven't been before though. The place is one massive garden in the centre of a large city much like Twilight Town except a lot larger. Tall buildings and skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. Under the right light it could look purple and blue which affected the colour of the garden in question. The place was a large tourist spot and of course it called to couples mostly.

Naminé loved the place and we'd spend as much free time as we could there whenever we were available. Honestly the place was getting to be kind of boring to me but Naminé could never get enough. Not that it bothered me in fact it made me happy. Seeing her smile was one of the things I lived for. And her smile was always brightest in that garden…

And then it hit me. It hit me so hard I stopped in my tracks. Inside I was punching myself over and over and I even considered smashing my head against a wall. It was her dream. Her one true goal in life. The reason why she had saved up so much money only to have to chip in for rent due to the fact that she's so stubborn she won't let me pay for the both of us.

Naminé grew up with her grandmother in a suburban area. Far away from the city life she got to live like no other kid I've ever grown up with. Unlike us city kids Naminé got to live in a house for the better part of her life. There, her grandmother introduced her to two things: painting and gardening. When she moved here she could only keep up with one of those things. But gardening was no longer a possibility for her. And yet, that was the one she wanted the most.

I remember the day she showed me her entire scrap book of drawings from when she was younger. Pages upon pages of wide shots of her and her grandmother's garden. Even smaller sketches of individual flowers, bouquets and everything else from the shed to the unused garage to hedges and archways. The garden was stunning and had just about everything in it. And it was always Naminé's favourite thing to draw and eventually paint.

But after her grandmother died she was forced into a life without those colours. She lost the two things she loved most and the two things she had left in this world. The last family member she had and their beautiful garden. And her dream, was to return to it one day.

I found out only a few weeks after we started dating. I had always been curious but never got the chance to ask in a way I thought would be polite. My question was…

"Why do you save up so much money?" I asked.

Naminé turned to me after pulling her card out from the machine. "Mmmm?" She questioned with an ice pop in her mouth. She pulled it out to speak. "What was that?"

Before I answered Naminé came up close and wrapped one arm around my back, the other holding her ice pop which returned to her mouth. My arm automatically moved to sit at her waist. "Well…" Having to repeat myself wasn't going to be easy. Money was always a delicate topic as my father at told me when I got my first job.

"Roxas? What's wrong?" She locked up at me with large bluish-grey eyes, her long blonde hair falling over her face in small ribbons.

I breathed in and asked again, not actually meeting her eyes with my own. "Why do you have so much money saved up?" I said it slightly faster this time and a little louder. "I always see it, you don't spend much even on art supplies and, while you don't tend to be a scab you did try to get food from others in high school, and now-a-days you tend to spend little to no money on even your basic necessities. It's all in your account and never touched." I realised I was rambling a little.

Naminé seemed to be surprised by this but she quickly recovered. And from the corner of my eye I saw her turn her attention to look in front of her. "Well, you know the old house I used to live in with grandma." Her voice quietened slightly at the mention of her late grandmother, it ripped my heart a little and I held a little tighter in response.

"Yeah." Was all I said, waiting for her to go on.

"That house is still there and…" she paused for a moment. She seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before she continued. "I want to move back into it, so I'm saving all my money for just that."

In all honesty I was very shocked to hear say those words and with such dedication too like she owned them. "Oh." I didn't really know how to respond.

Naminé stopped walking then. "Remember that scrapbook I showed you?" She asked turning to me to face me on an angle.

"The one from when you were a child?" She nodded. "Yeah, of course." I said with a big smile.

Naminé smiled back just the tiniest amount. "And I'm sure you can remember what was in it." She said instead of asked this time.

I nodded this time. "Of course, they were sketches and paintings of your garden from back then." I responded with the same smile. "Beautiful work by the way." I added, moving closer to her as she had stepped forward slightly, barley in my reach.

"Thank you." She said matter-of-factly, her smile getting ever slightly larger. "I hope one day I can buy the property back one day." She said.

"Woah, seriously?" I blurted out quickly. Naminé was never one to be on her own, between living with her grandmother and then me and always begin with either Kairi or her best friend Olette while in school. Would she be living alone?

"Yes." She said simply. "I want to return to that garden, bring it back if I have to, and paint for as long as I can." She added while staring lonely up at the sky.

My eyes remained trained on her and her beautiful face. I couldn't help but smile. The girl was so full of surprises. I would learn from that day that she'd be such a girl.

"You must really love it." I say, unintentionally ripping her from her dreamy state and bring her eyes back towards mine.

She nodded. "I do, and it's my dream to capture every little detail of that garden." I still remember that she didn't let up that smile for the rest of the night.

After coming out of my memories I had found my head hitting something rough. I was still standing and it seemed as though I had simply run into a wall. I looked up to find a small apartment building towering over me. It was slightly run down, showing its age, and the area around it, and likely most of the rooms inside, reeked of cigarette smoke and what my mother would call 'bad life choices'.

It didn't take me long to figure out why I was here. Axel was my best friend even though he was several years older than me. I had managed to catch him in his last unsuccessful year at high school where he 'took me under his wing' and taught me all about being a man. Though I didn't do half the things he suggested I ended up being a lot better with the help after he left. I was more confident and honestly I owe him a lot for it.

I went inside and went straight up to his room on the third floor. It was right at the end of the hall meaning I crossed a lot of dodgy looking doors. There was some yelling and electro music rocking the place but just barely. And surely enough, it smelt even worse in here than it did outside. But I could put up with it. I had for Axel, ever since we became friends.

I knocked on his door and when there was no immediate answer I waited for a minute. Usually, especially on a Friday, he was with some girl, but he promised to open the door no matter what if I knocked loud enough and with the secret knock he came up with. However, a minuet passed and there was no answer showing that he wasn't home. Luckily I knew about the spare key under his door mat.

I pulled it out and unlocked the door. When I closed it I was met with mostly silence other than the aforementioned booming of the music from another room. Which was slightly quieter now that I was in a room with surprisingly thick walls. Axel's life may suck but he's doing well for himself. Got a band and now they were set to go on tour in a few days. He'll likely never see this place again as he told me he would be moving out when he got back.

In any case. I had come here tonight because I didn't want to be at home right now. And with the small possibility that Naminé would return there tonight I knew things would get worse. I knew I was being a wuss but I just couldn't face her right now. Hell I couldn't even face myself at the moment.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how tired I was. Probably due to a combination of my long walk, energy from the argument and the stress over it. I didn't bother washing up but I did notice the window was open. Axel always did this. He said he didn't have anything valuable. Even his phone wasn't anything to write home about, he liked to say. Needless to say though, it made the room a lot more uncomfortable than it already was with the extra breeze blowing through.

I went over to close it. The room was cluttered but not with furniture other than a couch thrown haphazardly against one wall with a small TV laid up against the other. We rarely ever used the couch actually, and preferred the rug directly in front of the entertainment device rather than sitting an entire room away from the tiny thing.

I reached up to unclip the lock that kept the window open but before lowering it something caught my eye. Down on the street there was a flickering neon sign. It was obviously old as it didn't stay on for long before flickering off and back on again. The sign read 'Destiny Island' in cursive font with two palm trees next to it. Underneath it was a sign that read closed. From here it looked like an old gardening shop.

And then I looked around and saw something. Something that has been staring at me in the face for so long yet I never really paid any attention to it.

I got an idea. And knew that no matter what I was going make Naminé smile on our anniversary day.

~ Cinderblock Garden ~

She didn't come home last night. After I received an unanswered call from Olette I was positive Naminé had gone to her. And just as we share our stubbornness we also share our reluctance. I could have guessed she wouldn't want to see me just as much as I didn't want to see her. But I had a mission, and I was going to accomplish it no matter what. At least I hoped so.

I heard the door unlock and open in the early afternoon on the fabled day that saw our anniversary and Valentine's Day meet. I stood in her studio, secretly hoping it would be the last room she checked.

"Roxas?" Came her shaky and unsure voice. I could tell that she was still worried about seeing me. I was too. But this was bound to happen eventually. But whether we break up today or not depended on whether I had made the right choice or not.

"Roxas?" Naminé called again this time less shaky. She was likely becoming bolder as she assumed that I was not here. It wouldn't be long before she walked into this very room.

The whole time I stood behind the open door to the studio. I heard shuffling feet and footsteps, doors opening and closing. It seemed as though the studio was going to be the last room checked. I heard her move past it twice moving to check the bedroom and then likely the kitchen, maybe even a few rooms twice. I hadn't noticed I was holding my breath but I didn't dare let it out

Eventually, I heard Namine's steps draw closer once more before stopping abruptly. From what I could tell she was standing just outside the open doorway, doing what, I couldn't tell. I tried looking through the gap between the door I was hiding behind and the wall it was attached to. As suspected I couldn't see a thing.

There was silence for a moment before I heard Naminé shuffle into the room. A few more steps and she was in sight. I got lost in her figure for a moment. Short and slender, the slightest hint of curves. Her blonde hair let loose, messily flowing down her back and likely covering portions of her face.

I snapped out of it when she got further away. It was almost time to reveal myself. So far things were going the way I planned. Naminé got closer and closer to my 'present' for her. The time she was taking started growing agonizing until eventually I couldn't take it anymore.

I stepped forward from my hiding position, purposefully causing the door to creak when I moved it out of my way. I didn't shut it as I didn't want to appear forceful. If Naminé wanted to leave I had to be sure she would be allowed to.

The creaking door made her go rigid for a moment. She stood tall and still as if she wasn't breathing anymore. But eventually she moved again and turned around, slowly. The whole time she moved I watched her. But when her large eyes came crashing into my own I couldn't help but look away. There was still hurt there, and even a small bit of fear from the other night.

We stood like that for a while, me leaning up against the wall, holding the doorknob to ensure the door stay open, and Naminé in the centre of the room, half turned towards me half towards the window on the opposite side of the room from where the door was. The whole time I didn't look at her and I wasn't sure if she was looking at me or not.

But eventually, the silence became unbearable and I had to speak up.

"So…" I said, I meant it as a question but it didn't end up so.

I heard Naminé take a sharp breath. "Wa… What?" She stuttered. I noted that her voice sound quite hoarse.

I tried looking up but my eyesight fell back to my shoes. "I… Ah." I didn't know what to say. And though I had thought about it all day yesterday I should have known that, when the time came, I wouldn't be able to deliver.

But Naminé was being patient or so I thought. When she spoke again I could tell she was looking away from me, looking at something in particular I hoped. "Did you… do this?" She finally asked.

That was it, I finally looked up and while I hadn't been able to make eye contact with her like I wanted I was still spurred on. "Naminé, I…"

Naminé silently cut me off when she turned to me abruptly. I had feared that she was frightened by me as I had noted I was speaking a little loudly. So I tried to keep the noise down.

"Sorry." I quickly apologized. It was a good time for me to meet her eyes and yet I just couldn't. "Naminé… I wanted to say sorry but… I knew that whatever I had to say would never make up for the pain I caused you."

I quickly noticed that I was making things up as I went along, as if my past rehearsal meant nothing. And while a part of me was yelling to stop I just couldn't. "The other night I… did something horrible. I neglected you of your dream and even worse I only noticed later that night what that must have done to you."

The whole time I was talking Naminé stood still, silent. A part of me was glad, that she would grant me the time to listen was more than I could ask for after what I did. But another part of me, the part from before, really wanted to interject. I was rambling at this point.

"I'm sorry I forgot about your dream, your passion. I see that Radiant Garden means a lot to you and yeah in a way it means a lot to me too but not the same way for you so I didn't think it'd be a big deal to not go there just this once especially considering what time of the year it is specifically for us."

I never managed to look up once but I still felt Naminé's stare on me. It was unrelenting but I had yet to gauge the full meaning behind her gaze until I could look up. The time for that however was yet to come.

"I, just wanted to enjoy this year's anniversary with you, alone. But I see now that that is not the right choice." I really didn't know what else to say. And yet, I knew exactly what to say. "I'm sorry Naminé. I love you and the last thing I want to do is hurt you and yet I still did. But I can promise, no I swear…"

That was when I looked up to see her. Our eyes locked instantly and it didn't take me long to see that she was starting to tear up. Why she was on the verge of crying I wasn't sure.

I hadn't noticed my mouth had been hanging open until I managed to continue talking. "…that I'll never do that to you again…" I wanted to say something else, but I still paused, keeping my eyes on hers. "…I'm… sorry." I hesitated and it seemed really stupid to.

And yet, after a moment of silence, a moment of me and her simply staring each other in the eyes, Naminé finally said something. "Roxas I…" She began, a sob taking her.

"What is it…?" I wanted to go to her. Seeing her in such a weak state made me feel even worse having known that it was my fault. I could only take one step however, and it wouldn't take me a long while to realise that even with that step Naminé didn't step back. "…Naminé?"

"I…" Another sob escaped her. It seemed like she was at a loss for words, simply playing off the moment by wiping her tears. But she eventually regained herself. But what she said really wasn't what I expected. "…Thank you." Was what she said, revealing a big smile as her legs launched off the ground, her arms stretched out towards me, coming closer.

I didn't move at all as she came towards me. Given the small proximity of the room we were in she didn't have to travel far. And yet it felt like the whole scene moved in slow motion. Her figure moving agonizingly slow towards my own. But eventually, I felt her long slender arms wrap around my body, squeezing me ever so softly. Like she always did.

"Oh, Roxas. Thank you!" She said again, this time louder and, looking down I could see, with an even bigger smile.

She made me smile too, though I was still cautious about this whole thing. "Naminé?" Was all I managed to say in my confusion.

Naminé took this as a prompt to step back a little, her hands remaining at my back. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what to say."

It made sense then. Naminé was never the kind to talk much. She only allowed herself to open up to certain people and that list included Kairi, Sora, Olette and finally, me. To say that didn't surprise me in the slightest and I found myself a lot less confused.

"Well…" I wasn't sure what to say suddenly either. The girl had a knack for taking words out of people. Well, that's the effect she had on me anyway. "…You could say…"

"I love you." Naminé cut me off, speaking the words I was about to selfishly ask for. "And I'm sorry."

Again I became confused. "For what?" My hands were on her hips now. As we got more comfortable with each other, things started feeling more natural.

"For yelling at you." She said. "For storming out and everything else." Naminé's eyes began straying from their positions on my own.

I was about to cut her off but words weren't able to leave my mouth when it opened. I wasn't even sure I drew breath either.

"You told me that you saw what you did wrong and now it's time for me to say the same thing." Naminé said, with confidence but obvious unsureness also. "It took me that whole night to see why you wanted to do what you wanted to do with us and when I realised I thought of how stupid I was and the whole night I got stressed over how I was meant to face you."

Naminé was on the verge of rambling, I could tell. But just as she predicted it was as though I had heard my thought patterns from the past two nights. So I stopped her, bringing a finger to her lips.

"It's ok Naminé, your gonna give me a case of PTSD if you keep talking like that." It was a lame joke, very lame given the circumstances. And yet, she still giggled.

We stayed like that for a moment before Naminé turned in my arms to bring attention to the window sill. "Though I'm still sorry." We looked forward together. At what I had prepared for her. "I didn't go to these lengths to apologise."

I chuckled at that. "It's ok, I don't mind." I assured her, stepping forward towards the window with her. "Besides. I owe you a long, overdue gift."

I caught Naminé smirk out of the corner of my eye. "Oh please. Making your 'world famous' hotdogs every Thursday is more than enough."

We stopped walking directly in front of the sill. "Still…"

Beneath the window was a narrow wooden table pressed against the wall length ways. It was old and worn but still strong and almost not creaky at all. Atop it were three cinderblocks placed directly next to each other. The blocks had two large square hollows in each. Within them contained fresh soil and an abundance of white and yellow flowers.

"…You deserve a garden." Was all I said after a moment.

We both looked down at my handy work. I honestly didn't think it was that great but from the look I was getting from Naminé I could tell that it had done the trick. I smiled. Not at the 'garden' but at her.

"…Maybe I do…" She muttered just barely audible.

"Well I think you do." I said, sternly. "And one day we'll get you one."

Naminé looked up at me and I stared back, smiles on our faces. "Thank you." She said silently and nothing more.

I wasn't sure what to do next but I felt like there was something Naminé would like to do. "So why don't you get started?"

Naminé looked confused. "Huh?" She said in question.

"Well…" I scratched the back of my neck, suddenly becoming really flustered. "I know it isn't much but I was hoping you'd still like to paint it."

Naminé looked back at the flowers.

"Of course if you don't want to I…"

"Of course, I'd love to." She cut in quickly, moving away from me to grab her easel, paints and brushes. The whole time she worked on getting a canvas set up I couldn't help but watch her. I smiled at every little movement she made, each just a graceful as the last. She was always deliberate when she painted. So much so that she was deliberate in setting up. Making sure that each and every detail was set the way she wanted it to be.

Eventually she sat down and then I noticed that I hadn't moved from my spot in front of the view. "Oh sorry." I said, stepping out of her view. "I'll leave you to it."

Naminé had been holding her paint brush up, sizing the scene up. But she stopped before I could get away. "Wait!" She said suddenly. "Stand next to it. Against the wall." Was her order.

"Really?" I questioned. "You want me in this one?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Now move muse." She added playfully, fitting her 'painter princess' role-play we had made up perfectly.

I nodded back, filling my role as 'silent muse' though I not help the smile. And it seemed like Naminé didn't either.

I leaned up against the wall. Naminé instructed me to put my hands in my pockets, pose lazily and relaxed and stare at her as though I were staring down a camera lens about to take my picture. Though doing so would cause my face to scrunch up like it always did when photos were taken of me so instead I focused on Naminé.

The whole time we were in silence. Naminé smiled and so did I. I watched her make each paint stroke, change colours, and constantly look towards me and the cinderblock garden. A comfortable and lovable silence fell over us and everything seemed perfect.

But then. "Hey." Naminé spoke suddenly.

I came out of my daze, my face contorting into that of curiosity. "What is it?" I asked

"Can you close your eyes?" She asked shyly.

Naminé wasn't subtle. When she was about to do something that would shock everyone around her you could see it coming a mile away. Which would inevitably bring down the shock factor. "Sure thing." Came my response, and my face relaxed into the smile I had before and my eyes closed as I was instructed.

In the darkness of my eye lids I didn't hear anything other than my own steady heart beat banging away in my ear. But then another noise made itself known. It was some sought of shuffling. Not like a paint brush gliding across a canvas but… I could hear footsteps. And they were getting closer.

Before another moment could pass like that I felt a warmth upon me and my lips became hot. I would have been shocked out of my skin had I not seen something like this coming. Though this still surprised me.

I went rigid from Naminé's kiss for a second, goose bumps spreading across my skin in split seconds. Then I relaxed and returned the kiss with all I had. I guess at this point we were making out but I didn't care and neither did Naminé it seemed.

After what felt like an eternity Naminé finally parted. "Come one." She said, reaching down for my hand.

I grasped it instinctively as she grabbed mine back. I hadn't noticed what she had said before she started dragging me towards the door. "Wait." I started, not bothering to stop moving with her though. "What about your painting?"

Naminé stopped at the door and pulled me through it, reaching for the doorhandle as she slowly closed the door itself.

"I could think of several other ways we could be spending our anniversary."

I sudden wave of guilt came over me. But, as if sensing it, Naminé leaned up to whisper in my ear.

"Something only we can do alone."

The door shut behind us and eventually another door shut too.

The studio fell silent but all the noise from the outside city, coming from cars moving and honking and the odd bird chirping from the powerlines, flowed in softly along with the afternoon sunlight. Naminé had always wanted a garden but she was forced into a life were she couldn't get one. I can't say I loved the city but I didn't mind it. And I could tell, though she never said anything about it, Naminé truly dreaded the city.

She was a girl with nothing but a cinderblock garden one day hoping for a real much larger one. So that made me the boy with the silver lining. Showing Naminé that an unideal life has its moments.

Showing her that all she truly needed was a beautiful cinderblock garden.

* * *

That we could make forever after all,

Finding the gold in our darkest moments,

Watching the roads turning into white roses, roses,

And we don't ever have to leave these walls,

I'll be the boy with the silver lining,

You'll be the girl with the cinderblock garden

* * *

Scab: This is an Australian slang word (at least I'm pretty sure it it) and I used it because I really have no idea what word I should use. Anyway, it describes a person, generally a school kid, who is always trying to get food or money for the tuck shop (cafeteria) from other people. Fun Fact: I was a scab once… it was horrible.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.


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